We love running, and we love tech

Monthly Archives: January 2014

A new fitness app, website and workout service aims to upend gym habits by charging users less the more they workout.

Called Fitmob, the fitness service eschews the normal gym model and instead connects users directly with fitness trainers for classes. The trainers put together the class and find a workout space through Fitmob, which has researched venues that rent by the hour.

Fitmob allows instructors and gym-goers to workout wherever they want

Users can then attend the class and rate the trainers so other users know exactly what they’re in for.

While gyms will oversell their memberships knowing that many January signups will be no shows in August, the creators of Fitmob want to incentivise working out. They charge users less money the more classes users go to per week.

Nike’s Flyknit technology was a stunning advancement for the company – a real sign that it was stepping up its activity in the running shoe space, but also a sign of great innovation. Following the release of the Flyknit Lunar+1 shoe in March 2013, the company has now unveiled the second generation of its footwear – the Lunar2.

Weighing in at just 7 ounces, the shoe is described by Nike as ‘the formula for the perfect run’. The Lunar2 combines an ultralight yet supportive and stretchier Flyknit upper combined with soft, responsive Lunarlon cushioning. The shoes also feature an attached tongue that stays in place and an outsole pattern that more closely matches how the foot naturally moves through a stride.

Razer is a company you might associate first and foremost with audio or gaming peripherals, but this year’s CES contained a lot of companies entering the wearable technology space for the first time.

So meet the Nabu, not the Star Wars planet, but Razer’s take on wearable tech. Part smartwatch and part fitness band (like the Jawbone Up), the Nabu provides the best of both worlds.

The Razer Nabu allows your to take calls on the go

There’s the public side on the outside of the band that shows basic notifications like incoming calls. Then, for a little more privacy from prying eyes, there’s a private screen that’s located on the inside of the wrist, which will show information such as emails, messages and the biometric data that the Nabu is constantly collecting.

Augmented Reality is undoubtedly one of the next big trends to hit technology, with developers coming up with ever more interesting ways to use it. We’ve previously covered how gamification of your run or workout can help spur you on, even if it involved a little fear – but now a new app is really taking it to the next level…

Race Yourself is an app for Google Glass which, using augmented reality, gives you an avatar to compete against in the real world. This avatar can then be put into more than 30 different game modes, from simply racing against yourself to being chased by a giant Indiana Jones-style boulder and even hordes of zombies, similar to Zombies, Run, one of our favourite fitness apps of last year.

GPS devices are exceedingly popular for runners and hikers, as their pastimes often lead them off the beaten track. But so far, there has been a lack of dedicated options for cyclists, short of fastening a GPS unit or smartphone to the handlebars. Shown off at CES last week, the CycleNav from Schwinn looks to address this balance.

The CycleNav clips onto your handlebars to show you the way

On sale for $60, the device clips onto your handlebars and communicates with your smartphone via the free accompanying iOS or Android app and Bluetooth. Simply type in your destination, check your route, and the CycleNav will show you the way.

With Christmas now a distant memory, we’re hoping that those of you who bought or received any kind of wearable technology have been out and about getting some full usage of it! However, if this included a Fitbit Force, you may want to hold off for a while, as consumer advocacy blog The Consumerist is reporting that some users have ended up with skin complaints after using the device.

The troublesome device – FitbitForce

One of the blog’s readers, a chap named Kevin, who had been wearing and using his Fitbit Force since November, began noticing a problem after using the Force for six weeks, at which point he visited his doctor and had the rash diagnosed as contact dermatitis.

He said: “I really wanted to buy into the Fitbit ecosystem and I loved the device — before the injury. Considering I have medical expenses resulting from treatment, and the fact that healing is slow-going and may scar me, Fitbit has done nothing to show me that they care for their customers’ loyalty.”

If your family is falling behind on its fitness, and you need something slightly more motivational than threats or rewards (we can work with either), then the new ‘Mother’ fitness tracker from French company Sen.se may be just what you’ve been looking for.

Looking like a cross between an Uncanny Valley snowman and a Russian nesting doll, Mother is a new motion-sensing gadget which takes the concept of a personal fitness tracker (or smart pedometer) and expands it to measure various aspects of your family.

Mother tracks various activities via the colour-coded ‘cookies’

Mother comes with four trackers, or “cookies”, which can either act as a fitness tracker, if you tuck one into your pocket, or alternatively you can set it to tell you about other family matters, such as what time your kids got back from school.

Sometimes we all need a little extra bit of encouragement to get ourselves out of the house – which is why Pact, (the new name for what was formerly GymPact) could well be the answer to many of our prayers.

Pact’s monetary rewards system could be that extra bit of motivation we all need…

To use the app, users can chose to make a “pact” to exercise, log your meals on MyFitnessPal.com or eat vegetables for a certain number of days. When you sign up for a pact, you select a certain monetary amount that is deducted from your credit card or PayPal account for each day you miss. If you hit your goal, then you get paid a reward, paid from the pool of money from people who didn’t make their pact.

Adding gamification is a great way to motivate people to stay committed throughout the different process of getting fit. We’ve seen in the past how a good bit of innovative storytelling can inspire users to go that extra mile, and now there’s a new entry to the market from the makers of hit music game Guitar Hero.

Users can choose from a variety of games to help make their workout more enjoyable

Called Blue Goji, the app looks to transform any piece of cardio equipment into an interactive gaming machine. Simply attach the two controllers, each of which has two buttons, to the handles of a piece of equipment such as a bike, clip on the activity sensor, and you can choose from a variety of games to help speed you through your workout.

The game element is viewed on an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch, showing your character in a variety of scenarios, such as a boat race or boxing competition, with its speed or power coming from your output, measured by Goji’s fitness tracker, either in your pocket or clipped to your belt.